Previous unsolved aviation mysteries

As the search operations are currently underway for the EgyptAir flight MS804, which disappeared off the radar earlier today over the Mediterranean Sea, its mysterious disappearance is not the first incident of a passenger plane going missing.
Emirates 24|7 recaps on some of the biggest mysteries in aviation history:

Malaysia Airlines MH370

When: March 8, 2014

Status: Missing, search continues

Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 disappeared on March 8, 2014 while traveling from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.

The aircraft was carrying 227 passengers and 12 crewmembers on board when it disappeared from the radar less than 60 minutes after takeoff.

The plane’s disappearance launched a global search around the South China Sea, which is still ongoing.

Authorities believe the Boeing 777, carrying mostly Chinese and Malaysians, detoured to the remote southern Indian Ocean and then plunged into the water.

Over the past year, five pieces of debris have been identified as either definitely or probably from the jet, all found thousands of kilometres (miles) from the search zone, likely swept there by ocean currents.

Theories to explain the disappearance include a possible mechanical or structural failure, a hijacking or terror plot, or rogue pilot action.

Boeing 727-223

When: May 25, 2003

Status: Stolen

Many find it hard to believe how a Boeing 727 aircraft could simply be stolen from the tarmac, but stranger things have happened.

Once owned by American Airlines, the aircraft was on lease to TAAG Angola Airlines by Aerospace Sales & Leasing.

An FBI report described it as "...unpainted silver in color with a stripe of blue, white, and red. The plane was formerly in the air fleet of a major airline, but all of the passenger seats have been removed. It is outfitted to carry diesel fuel."

The aircraft had been grounded for 14 months and on May 25, it is believed two men are believed boarded the plane, one of them being American pilot and flight engineer Ben Charles Padilla.

The aircraft began taxiing without communicating with the control tower, with its tracking transponder was turned off.

With its lights off, the aircraft took off, heading southwest over the Atlantic Ocean. Neither the plane nor the two men have been seen since.
 
Pakistan International Airlines PK404

When: August 25, 1989

Status: Missing, possibly crashed

Pakistan International Airlines flight PK404 disappeared shortly after takeoff on August 25, 1989.

The Fokker F27 Friendship aircraft was a domestic passenger flight that took off from the northern city of Gilgit, Pakistan that was en route to Islamabad.

One of the pilots of the aircraft made a routine radio call at 7.40am; this was the last communication with the aircraft.

The aircraft, which had 54 people on board, is thought to have crashed in the Himalayan mountain range, but the wreckage of the plane has never been found.

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